as in cowed
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as in intimidated
to make timid or fearful by or as if by threats
the judge warned the attorney that hectoring the witness with aggressive questioning would not be allowed
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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Recent Examples of hectored
Alejandra Gularte, Vulture, 14 Aug. 2025
Verb
Jason Sudeikis, Robert Smigel, and George Wendt hectored Kelce to (1) make Taylor pony up for a new stadium and (2) propose already.
—Alejandra Gularte, Vulture, 14 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for hectored
Verb
-
He was less intimidated by its befuddling organization and had grown accustomed to the antiquated spellings and the nearly illegible, unpunctuated scribblings of harried seventeenth-century officials.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
28 Jan. 2026
-
The proliferation of novel cognitive frameworks through social media, as well as the election of corrupt and lawless people to high office, has intimidated the old elites into hastily reevaluating what is appropriate.—
Sean Williams,
Harpers Magazine,
27 Jan. 2026
Adjective
-
Audiences who endured the Miramax era have been browbeaten to believe that the best picture Oscar should go to a period piece that chokes out a sob from audiences.—
Amy Nicholson,
Los Angeles Times,
22 Jan. 2026
-
Not to the extent that the user is necessarily being browbeaten.—
Lance Eliot,
Forbes.com,
1 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
Despite their efforts to reunite her with her siblings on the lake, she was rejected and bullied, and eventually taken in by Marshall and his wife, PJ.—
Ryan Gillespie,
The Orlando Sentinel,
24 Jan. 2026
-
Taylor’s reinvention story has always been driven by a belief in her artistry and a refusal to be bullied or controlled by those with legal paper rights to her catalogue but no rights to her talent.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
21 Jan. 2026
Adjective
-
Any oppressed people find outlets in humor.—
Damon Wise,
Deadline,
14 Jan. 2026
-
In 2017, a Radio Free Asia reporter named Shohret Hoshur broke the story that the Chinese government was holding members of the fiercely oppressed Uyghur minority in concentration camps in Xinjiang.—
Dexter Filkins,
New Yorker,
12 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
And my father—lovable but imposing, a strapping six feet three inches tall with a thick, bristly mustache and a rumbling Sergeant Schultz accent that frightened my friends half to death—loved to tell stories.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
5 Dec. 2025
-
Fortune had reported in its investigation that people within the agency were frightened of examining Boring Company after two staffers who worked on the case had been disciplined.—
Jessica Mathews,
Fortune,
20 Nov. 2025
Adjective
-
Prepare an Easy Pasta Sauce Combine a large can of crushed tomatoes, a large can of tomato paste, and a few tablespoons of this seasoning blend.—
Libby Monteith Minor,
Southern Living,
11 Jan. 2026
-
Add some crunch with crushed tortilla chips.—
Jenn Harris,
Los Angeles Times,
11 Jan. 2026
Adjective
-
Wonder if there's a former Alabama defensive coach looking to be a coordinator for a downtrodden NFC East franchise.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
8 Jan. 2026
-
Before diving into season 2, why not reacquaint yourself with The Pitt's heroic (and downtrodden) team?—
Randall Colburn,
Entertainment Weekly,
8 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Hectored.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/hectored. Accessed 30 Jan. 2026.
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